The Trump administration has officially awarded $2 billion in grants to nine quantum-computing firms, with the US government acquiring a major equity stake.
According to the Wall Street Journal, IBM will receive $1 billion, while GlobalFounderies is set to get $375 million. Reports suggest that D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing, and Infleqtion are expected to each receive $100 million, while Startup Diraq may get $28 million.
These investments align with the Trump administration’s policy of taking equity stakes in companies crucial to the domestic supply chain, aiming to counter China’s dominance in sectors like chipmaking. The administration has already invested in firms such as Intel and MP Materials.
Quantum computers use information differently from conventional supercomputers to solve complex mathematical problems instantly. However, current quantum computers allocate much of their computing power to error correction, making them not faster than classical computers.
At present, the US Department of Commerce, IBM, D-Wave Quantum, and Infleqtion did not immediately respond to inquiries about the status. Notably, shares of these companies rose between 7% and 21% in premarket trading.